I Wish
by Flames101
Summary: Spoliers to Lo-Fi, Mayhem and season5. Everything's changed now between JJ and Hotch; they just forgot to tell one person: Will. Please R&R. JJ/Hotch. Chapter 3 is new. Complete
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **So, here's my latest Criminal Minds story. It was originally supposed to be an entry for kdzl's March Madness Angst Challenge but I couldn't get it posted in time. But, here it is anyways. It takes place after the season 3 finale Lo-Fi and the season 4 season premiere Mayhem. Specifically, it has to do with the scene where JJ tells everyone she's pregnant and a certain Unit Chief's reaction. So, I hope you enjoy! Please R&R! Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any part of Criminal Minds.

**I Wish…**

She was dead. He never thought that when they'd signed up for this case that that would be the end result.

Agent Kate Joyner was dead.

He remembered the first time he'd met her. His first thought was how closely she resembled his wife. And then it soon became, who was this small, overbearing, presumptuous woman? Soon after, he learned that Kate Joyner, overbearing as she was, was excellent at what she did.

Now she was gone.

He wished the buzzing in his ears would be gone instead. Hotch tried to lay his head on the pillow of his standard issue hotel bed. But his mind was racing. He really wanted to forget the past 24 hours. Especially a certain revelation made by a certain team member.

To say he was shocked by JJ's pregnancy would be a great understatement. When had her relationship with Detective LaMontagne gotten so serious? They were even thinking of marriage?

He ran a shaky hand through his hair. He was an idiot. One question ran though his head: Why did he wait so long?

Hotch could finally admit to himself at that moment that he had feelings for the caring blonde. Yeah, he could admit it now, now that he had no chance at all. He was such a coward.

Hotch let out a remorseful sigh.

An unexpected knock came at his door. He had no idea who it could be, but knew it was probably important if they were disturbing his "sleep."

He got up slowly and opened the door.

"JJ?" he said surprised.

* * *

JJ rolled over in bed to see her… boyfriend, for lack of a better term, sleeping soundly. She smiled. She loved Will, she really did, but her mind couldn't help the wandering it wanted to do.

Now that the case was solved and she had a free moment to breathe she could now relive and analyze a certain unit chief's reaction to her unexpected revelation.

For that brief moment, before he was all business as usual, Hotch seemed almost… hurt.

And JJ couldn't really understand why. Hotch had always been polite and friendly with her. There were even moments when he truly got her and vice-versa, but there was nothing really… more.

So, what had changed with him? Had something changed? Was she just reading a little more into it? Was it all just hormones?

But, no, she knew she had seen and heard a twinge of something more in his eyes and voice.

JJ had to know what was up. Slowly, she got up out of bed. She looked at Will quickly before opening the door. He was still fast asleep. He'd always been a deep sleeper, ever since she'd known him.

JJ's heart fluttered as she made her way to the elevator. Now outside of her room, away from Will, she could finally admit where her curiosity stemmed from. It was a wonder she still had it, the crush she'd had on Hotch when she first met him, four years ago.

She remembered, being young and impressionable, meeting her older, sophisticated boss. She was a little star-struck. And even though she knew he was married, she always had the hope that he'd think of her affectionately.

When she finally got over her crush she'd found Will. And coincidentally Hotch's marriage fell apart It seemed that there was never a time for them anyways. But, she still had to know if there was something.

So, she took in a deep breath and knocked lightly, hesitantly on her boss's door.

The door opened after a minute, and in that minute she had almost bolted. But when the door opened and revealed Hotch looking tired and weary and above all surprised, she was kind of relieved that she had come. Because she'd forgotten in all her own drama that one of her boss's friends had just passed away.

"JJ?" Hotch said in surprise.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

He watched her shrug her shoulders in indifference. "I couldn't sleep…" she trailed off. "And… I just wanted to make sure you were all right?"

"Why?" he replied bluntly and at her taken aback look he softened his harsh tone. "I mean thanks. But, why do you think I need checking up on?"

He sure hoped JJ hadn't caught on to his feelings. He had been hiding his feelings—successfully, he thought—all these years, but he knew last night he may have let his guard down slightly.

"Because…" she started, a hint of incredulity at his apparent thickness in her voice. "Agent Joyner…"

"Oh," he breathed out, relieved that that was JJ's motive and not the other reason.

"Can I come in?" JJ asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked quickly, without thinking.

The smile that was so prominent on her face suddenly faded away.

"What do you mean…" she trailed off, as a look of realization overcame her face. "You're right, you're tired. I shouldn't have come here, I'm sorry, I'll just go…"

"JJ, stop," he said bluntly. He took her hand and pulled lightly for her to enter the room. "Just come inside."

He shut the door behind her, letting go of her hand.

"Ok…" she said after the fact.

They stood awkwardly for a minute before Hotch realized he was making a pregnant woman stand.

"JJ, sit please, you're—" Hotch said, gesturing for the lone armchair in the room.

"Stop Hotch, I'll sit, but don't treat me like a delicate little girl now that I'm pregnant," JJ pleaded, taking the offered seat. "I couldn't stand that, not from you."

Hotch nodded in understanding. But he still brought over a blanket to throw over her bare shoulders.

"Sorry," he mumbled, as he took a seat at the foot of his bed.

JJ let out a sigh. "Don't be…"

Silence again, he couldn't really stand it. So he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "JJ, what are you really doing here?"

"Hotch, I—" she started, but this time he cut her off.

"I really am ok with your pregnancy, really," he assured her.

She raised an eyebrow at him and he realized he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than her.

And maybe he was. Now that JJ was pregnant there was even less of a chance for anything between them.

"What's wrong Hotch?" she asked him.

"Wrong? Nothing's really wrong. We stopped a terrorist group from blowing up a hospital, we saved a lot of lives," he paused. "Though, we lost Kate and many other innocent lives. But nothings wrong. Oh and your pregnant and maybe getting married to Will. Everything's great."

She was frowning at him. He hated when her frown was directed straight at him, especially since he knew he caused it. He only wanted to make her smile. But that wasn't his job that was Will's.

"Do I detect some bitterness?" she asked wryly.

"JJ what do you want me to say? This is the job. It's rarely going to make you smile or ok, you just have to deal with it. You don't have to like it, but you have to do it," he confessed.

She gave him an intense stare and then shocked him by asking, "So why don't you like my baby?"

"JJ—" he started, but stopped because he had no clue what to say.

She stood up to go, thinking he was finished. But he couldn't let her go thinking he was mad at the baby. It wasn't the baby's fault he was a coward. It was all his. And he'd be kicking himself over that fact for a long time.

JJ had reached for the door handle by the time he got himself moving. He put his hand over hers, stopping her.

She looked back over her shoulder silently.

"JJ, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I gave you that impression," he whispered to her. "I don't… hate your baby. JJ, I could never hate any part of you, ever."

She let out a sigh, turning around; she was very aware that his hand was still holding hers. "So what is it Hotch? I'm still here, and I will be back. I love my job; I'm not giving it up."

"No, I know that," he confirmed. His hand trailed from her hand up to her bare shoulder.

She glanced at his hand and then straight into his eyes. Her cornflower blue eyes were too intense, he almost looked away. "So, is it something else?"

"Yes," he murmured.

Now it was her hand that joined with his at her shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked urgently.

He shook his head dropping his hand and turning around. "JJ, I can't say, it would change everything."

She circled his body to face him once again. "What if… what if I want to know? What if I wanted change?" she asked, surprising him. "At least for this moment…"

She was giving him an opening, a chance to let her know just how he felt. But, he was still that same coward.

"JJ, I can't…" he began.

She put he fingers over his lips. "Hotch, please."

He gave her one brief nod and she dropped her fingers only to replace them with the touch of her lips.

It was just a graze of a kiss, but with it Hotch felt all his pent up emotions ready to burst. He wanted to tell her how he felt.

Pulling back, she was watching him intensely, her eyes told him she wanted more, so he eagerly bent his head back to hers and lost himself with her touch.

Hotch pulled them over to his bed where they continued to explore this new found thing between them.

After awhile, though, JJ pulled back. Hotch watched her carefully, a hand caressing her cheek tenderly.

Her eyes were closed, her head tipped down demurely. She was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath, and her cheeks were pink with the effort.

She let out a sad sounding sigh.

"JJ?" He questioned tentatively.

"I love this baby," she started by saying, she opened her bright blue eyes and looked at him dead on. "But… I wish things were different. I wish I had the courage to tell you how I felt. I wish I had figured out you felt the same. I wish… I wish we were free to be together…"

Hotch took her hand and brought the palm to his lips for a kiss. "That's a lot of I wishes…" he said wryly.

He smiled at her but she just returned it with a sadder look.

"I'm sorry Hotch," she said mournfully, "about everything."

"Hey," he said quickly, placing a gentle hand to her stomach. "Don't be sorry about this. He's going to be great, just like his mother."

Finally she smiled. "He?"

"Of course, can't you feel it? You've got a future BAU agent growing in there," he joked.

She laughed. "BAU agents can be and are girls too, you know?"

"Sure, sure, but this one's a boy," he assured.

"So sexist…" she laughed. She let out another sad sigh. "I wish you… were the father…"

He let out a sigh of his own. "But, I'm not…"

With that JJ stood up.

Before she could go Hotch spoke up. "I'm glad you came here tonight," she waited for him to go on. "At least I know now."

She gave him a small smile, kissing his cheek, she replied, "At least we both know now."

JJ turned to leave as they both thought the same thing. Knowing, had to be enough for both of them, for now.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think, good or bad. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hi all! So, I'm going to admit that I Wish was supposed to be a one-shot, but I had forgotten to click the Complete button instead of the in-progress one. So, when everyone asked for a second chapter I didn't feel like disappointing anyone. So, here's the second instalment of I Wish. Thanks for the great response to the first chapter! Please R&R! Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Criminal Minds.

**Chapter 2:**

_~ 2 years later…_

Hotch came down the stairs of his house looking around, making sure there was nothing out of place. Because, if anything were out of place his visitor would read it as a call for help. Even though it had been almost a year since Hailey had died and he'd been back to normal at work for awhile now.

But his visitor still didn't seem to believe him. It's not as if she actually accused him of falling apart, but it was always in her eyes when she looked at him, even when they were speaking of un-subs.

He didn't want this between them. He wanted them to go back to normal. Or as normal as they could be with him being not-so-secretly in love with her.

The doorbell rang just then bringing him out of his dangerous thoughts. He let out a tired sigh and went for the door.

"Oh Hotch, you look tired, are you sure you're getting enough sleep?" JJ greeted him.

He held the door open for her. "Hello to you too, JJ," he said wryly.

JJ grimaced. "Sorry Hotch… you know I—"

"—worry about me, I know. Thanks, but I'm—"

"—fine, yeah I know," JJ finished.

They paused, realizing they had finished each others sentences, and smiled warmly at each other.

"Umm…" Hotch tried to speak, caught up in her dazzling smile. "So, how's Henry doing?"

JJ looked at her son in her arms guiltily, forgotten until now. "Oh, he's great! Can't wait to go to the zoo, right Henry?"

"Yeah, zoo!" the two and a half year old shouted excitedly.

"See," JJ laughed. "Where's Jack?"

Hotch smiled. "He's upstairs packing his backpack. I think he thinks he's going on a 3 day vacation instead of just a day trip to the zoo."

She laughed again, brightening Hotch's day up a bit more. He loved seeing her outside of work. It was rare she laughed in work circumstances.

"Here, why don't you take Henry and I'll go upstairs and help him out," JJ suggested.

He took the young boy from her arms. "Hotch!" Henry said happily.

Hotch laughed. "Hey Henry!" He looked at JJ. "A little warning before you go up there. Jack absolutely refused my help; he says he's a big boy now."

JJ smiled. "Well then he's got to learn that even big boys need help sometimes. Just look at you."

With that JJ took the stairs up leaving Hotch grinning at JJ's comment.

"Hotch!" Henry practically shouted, bringing him back to reality. "Zoo, let's go!"

"Your mommy's bringing Jack down, and then you'll be off to the zoo," Hotch assured the young boy.

Hotch took them over to the couch and sat down with Henry in his lap. The boy squirmed to get off and Hotch let him, watching, amused as the boy imitated his exact position.

Hotch listened to Henry's half talk, half mumbles conversation, putting in the necessary responses.

"It's gonna be fun at the zoo," Henry said quite clearly. "Me and Jack want the lions. Grr…"

"Make sure you're mommy takes lots of pictures," Hotch reminded.

"You and mommy take pictures, ok," Henry replied.

"Oh, buddy, I'm not going," Hotch said, surprised.

Henry's face took on an instant stricken look. "No! Daddy couldn't come, so you come instead!"

Hotch didn't know what to say to that. Luckily, JJ and Jack chose that exact moment to descend.

"Daddy!" Jack exclaimed. "JJ helped me pack my bag!"

He looked to JJ who held up an amused eyebrow at him. Then she saw Henry looking upset.

"Hey, honey, what's wrong?" JJ asked soothingly.

The little boy launched himself at her legs. "Hotch's not coming!"

JJ looked down at her son, than at Hotch. He gave her a helpless look.

"Henry, Hotch has some work to do," JJ explained.

"But… daddy never goes… I want Hotch to come instead… please," the boy said heartbreakingly.

"Henry—" JJ started.

Hotch quickly interrupted her. "JJ, if you don't mind, I could go too…"

Henry let go of his mom's legs, his face lit up again. "Yay!"

"Of course I don't mind. But, I thought you asked me to take the boys so you could get some work done? Henry will be fine…"

"It's ok," Hotch assured. "Work can wait. This is more important. I'll come too."

"Yay!" both boys shouted at the same time and Henry launched himself at Hotch's legs instead.

JJ smiled at him. "Thanks Hotch."

"No problem."

* * *

JJ walked along the zoo paths, Henry's hand and Jack's hand in each one of her own. They were having a lot of fun. She glanced over at Hotch as he pointed out something to the boys causing them to laugh as well as him. She smiled as she watched him.

She had to admit she had been worried about him. Hailey had been his wife, the mother of his child, even after the divorce it was clear to JJ he still had some kind of feelings for her. It made sense for him to be devastated over her death. And for a while he was. But now… now he seemed better. It didn't stop her worrying, of course, she cared about him.

Ok, she more than cared about him. But she tried to not let her thoughts go in that direction.

Hotch chose that exact moment to look at her. She blushed and instantly looked away.

Hotch laughed, which surprised JJ. "JJ, I'm having fun," he said long-suffering. "And I'm ok."

She chanced a look at him. "Really?" she asked unsurely.

"Yes," he replied.

"So, you don't regret missing your work plans?" she continued.

He gave her a look she couldn't read, but it turned out she didn't have to. "Are you kidding me, JJ? I'm out with my three favourite people in the world."

JJ smiled, the warmth she felt at his revelation was so much she could imagine steam coming out of her ears. She didn't really know what to say to that.

"Hotch—" she tried, but her angel son interrupted.

"Mommy, lions!" Henry exclaimed, as he tugged on her hand.

She looked at Hotch, shrugging apologetically. "Lions…"

* * *

They were driving home now, to Hotch's home to be exact. Hotch was driving JJ's SUV so that she could attend to the boys as they finished off some super sticky cotton candy.

It had been pretty quiet for the past five minutes and Hotch checked the backseat through the rear-view mirror. He was a little surprised to see the two energetic boys passed out.

"They tired themselves out," JJ spoke up.

He glanced at her and she looked away shyly. That was the second time that day that she'd done that. JJ had never been shy around him. Something must have been up.

"JJ… is there something wrong?" he asked tentatively.

They were stopped at a red light, so he looked at her waiting for her to look at him. She did, but her bright smile seemed kind of forced.

"Nope, nothings wrong," she said.

"JJ—"

"Light's green," she interrupted.

He didn't cover up his sigh at the frustration he suddenly felt. He drove on in silence, unsure if he should bring it up again.

They reached his house and he pulled into the driveway. Turning off the engine, they sat there in silence.

"JJ," he tried again.

"Hotch, I said I was fine," JJ urged.

"No, I know, it's not that," he said, deciding on a different tactic. "About Henry, about what he said about Will… I kind of got the impression that Will hasn't been around much…"

He let it trail off, left it open for her to finish.

"Well… he hasn't," she said bluntly, he thought to hide her hurt, but he could hear it still. "He's back in Louisiana."

"What?" Hotch asked surprised.

JJ let out a sigh. "Can we talk about this later… the boys are asleep. I should get home and make dinner…"

"Stay here, have dinner with us," Hotch said quickly.

"Hotch, I don't know," she said unsurely.

He wasn't about to let her go without at least hearing why and under what circumstances Will had left in. He needed to know whether he'd have to beat him up or not.

"Come on JJ, we'll have coffee and when the boys wake up we'll order pizza. They'll love it," Hotch urged, feeling a little bad he was using kids as bait.

"Fine," she said churlishly after a minutes thought.

Hotch chuckled. "Who knew spending time with me would be such a chore."

He opened his door and started to get out, but not before he distinctly heard JJ murmur, "I love spending time with you."

Hotch turned around to look inside, seeing that she was still watching him. He wanted to say something, but felt speechless at the intensity her blue eyes were looking at him with.

"Umm…" he tried, not believing he was speechless with her the second time that day. "Umm… the boys."

They each went to their respective sons and carefully extracted them from the SUV. Hotch led the way, silently, inside the house, up the stairs, and into Jack's room. They laid the boys side by side and left the room.

They stood outside the door for a second and then headed downstairs. This time Hotch led the way to the kitchen. He wanted her to bring up the Will issue instead of him so he silently began to make coffee while he waited for her to crack.

"Hotch," JJ protested. "Everything's fine."

"Mm… hmm," he said simply.

"I'm happy, Henry's happy," JJ continued.

"And Will," Hotch asked. "You forgot Will."

JJ frowned. "Yeah… Will's umm… happy too."

"That's good," he said.

"Yeah. So, why would anything be wrong?" JJ asked rationally.

"Exactly, why?" Hotch agreed with her playing along.

She was silent for all of thirty seconds when the truth came pouring out.

"Because, it's all wrong!" JJ exclaimed. "Will loves me and he loves Henry, but he's miserable here in Quantico. He needed to get out of here for a bit. He says he's homesick, but…"

"But you think it's something more," Hotch finished for her.

JJ let out a sad sigh. "Yeah…I think maybe if I were around more it might help. But I love my job too much, I can't give it up. It's not an option."

Hotch was so happy to hear her say that. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he couldn't see her almost everyday.

"So what is an option?" Hotch asked.

Another sigh. "I don't know… I guess wait and see if it's actual homesickness… and then…"

Hotch hated that Will was making JJ put her life on hold while he figured things out.

"What do you think Hotch?" JJ unexpectedly asked him.

Hotch stopped what he was doing and led them to the living room, basically stalling while he figured out exactly what he wanted to say.

They sat down on the couch facing each other.

"Well…" JJ prodded.

"I think… Will's a great guy and detective. I respect the work he does on the police force. And he's been good to you and Henry so far, so I can't fault him there…"

"But…"

"But, from what it sounds like, Will really misses his home and maybe… well maybe there's someone else out there for you."

_Whoa,_ he thought, _where did that come from?_

"Hotch—" JJ shook her head.

But, as it seemed, he wasn't ready to give up so easily. "No, JJ, wait… awhile ago you wished Henry was my son. What I should have said then was that I wished that too."

"Hotch… what are you saying?" JJ needed clarification.

He took in a deep breath. He was going to do it. He was going to stop being a coward, stop just wishing and just do it. Because this was his chance and he was going to take it.

"JJ… what I'm saying is back then wasn't the right time, but… maybe…" Hotch trailed off.

"Now is?" JJ asked.

"Well, that's going to be up to you and what you want," Hotch replied.

He held his breath waiting for her to reply. He let it go when she sidled closer to him and took his hand.

"Hotch," she murmured, and then smiled. "Aaron, it sounds like you want things to change. So can you tell me now what you wouldn't back then?"

She wanted to hear it. She wanted to know how much he cared about her. And he'd tell her.

"JJ," he gave her hand a squeeze. "I care about you so much; I have for a long time. I'm not exactly sure when my quiet respect and admiration for you turned into love, but I think… I think it's when you insisted we help those girls in North Mammon. You were so adamant and determined that it was hard to resist you in more ways than one…"

"Wait a second," JJ stopped him. "You… you love me?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Told you it would change things…"

"Yeah… yeah it definitely does," she said amazed. "What are we going to do?"

Hotch gave JJ a small smile. "Well you can start by telling me how you feel…"

She blew out a surprised, "Oh," and her free hand went up to cup his face. "Hotch, how could you not know… I love you too!"

Hotch took those words in and savoured each and every one. He couldn't help it; he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Mommy!"

"Daddy!"

The pair pulled apart, grinning.

"Our kids have such great timing, don't they?"

* * *

Well, that's it for now. I think I'll be putting up one more chapter just for closure's sake.

I hope you enjoyed this second, less angsty chapter. Please let me know what you think with a review.

Thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter: **ReadingRed; breverson; sheenabeena1; I-luv-janto; dramaadditc8807; canny-bairn; and LoveforPenandDerek.**

And thanks to anyone who favorited this!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hi all. So, not sure if anyone's been keeping up on this AJ Cook and Paget Brewster business that's been going on lately with Criminal Minds (if you haven't, and don't know what I'm talking about check out my bio), but it's been confirmed by AJ Cook herself (through twitter) that she'll only be back for 2 episodes next season to finish off JJ's storyline. She's done with the show and looking forward to new things. I'm sad she won't be in the show anymore and pissed off as hell at CBS for putting her in this position in the first place. And as for Paget, it looks like she'll be back for 17 out of 22 episodes (source is the Criminal Minds Fanatic message board, link in my bio). Which is totally not enough. So pissed off about that too.

So, I was so pissed off about this news I decided to update. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter, because I know you probably didn't enjoy my above news.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Criminal Minds. But the show would be a hundred times better off if it were on the Flames101 network instead of crap CBS!

**Chapter 3:**

_A month later…_

JJ tried to lose herself in the methodical task of washing dishes. But there was something huge weighing down on her and until she'd dealt with it she would not feel very relaxed.

Arms encircled her from behind and she gave a surprised squeak when a pair of lips touched her neck.

"You're really quiet tonight, you all right?" Hotch asked.

JJ sighed. She turned off the water and dried her hands on the apron she was wearing.

"Not really," she confessed.

Hotch turned her around in his arms. He placed his hands on each of her shoulders and gave her a stern stare. "JJ, it's going to be all right. We love each other, that's all that matters," he paused. "You just have to tell him that."

JJ groaned. She pulled herself away from him and sat down at Hotch's kitchen table. Ever since their admittance of love for each other JJ and Henry had all but moved in with Hotch and Jack. It was great; their days together were full of nothing but love, happiness, and respect. It was all going so well until she got a phone call yesterday.

"Easy for you to say. You don't have a boyfriend who thinks you've been faithful to him the whole time he was gone," JJ replied.

"JJ, you should have told Will about us the minute we knew," Hotch told her.

"Aaron! I don't need an 'I told you so' right now," she protested. "You don't think I know I should have said something right away? Believe me I know. I just thought…"

"… that he'd never come back?" She nodded. "JJ, Henry's still his son."

"I know… I just wish I didn't have to deal with this…" she trailed off.

"I can go with you," Hotch offered.

She shook her head furiously. That had disaster written all over it. "No, I'll do it alone. It's my mess, let me fix it, and then we can get on with the rest of our lives, together."

Hotch smiled and brought her knuckles up to his lips. "Ok, together."

* * *

"Excuse me?"

JJ thought she was going to be sick. She had just finished relaying what had happened in the past month to Will and the man looked anything but calm. She was glad she had the foresight to do this in a public place.

"Will," she pleaded. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" he repeated, looking incredulous.

She shrugged helplessly. "Will, come on, you left, you hardly called and I had no clue if you were even coming back."

"Of course I was coming back, you're here, Henry's here," Will protested. "This is my home!"

JJ shook her head. "We both know that's not true. You hate it here."

"That doesn't mean I didn't love you. That was no excuse to cheat on me with your boss," Will snapped.

"I know," JJ winced. "But honestly Will, how much did we really love each other if neither one of us was really ready to give up something we loved to compromise. I mean I can never give up my job here in Quantico."

"Well, now we now why…" Will stated sullenly.

JJ frowned. "Before you left I was trying my hardest to make our relationship work. I owed that to Henry and you, you had given up your home for me."

"So, you're telling me nothing else ever happened between you and Hotch before I left?" Will asked suspiciously.

She looked away unable to answer.

"I see," Will said simply, seemingly having calmed down. "So, what are you planning on doing?"

JJ looked at him, this time she knew exactly what she wanted to say. "I want to continue my life here with my son. We're going to move in with Hotch and Jack. I want to be a family and he can give that to me."

"And what about me? Henry's my son too," Will said, choking on his words.

He truly loved his son, JJ could tell. "Of course you can come and visit him as much as you want and he can visit you in Louisiana. He's still your son," JJ said firmly. "I would never try to take him away from you."

"Well," Will started. "It seems like you've got everything planned out."

JJ reached across the table wanting to comfort him, but he flinched, taking his hand away.

"Umm…" JJ choked out. "There's more…"

"Oh joy," Will said sarcastically.

"I wanted you to hear this from me, before Henry let anything slip," JJ started, she took in a deep breath. "I'm umm… pregnant."

Will's mouth dropped open, and then he startled her and everyone else in the restaurant by slamming his fist on the table. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

JJ sat still, not knowing what to do. She had known he'd react badly to the whole thing and yet she had nothing prepared to say in response to this. 'I'm sorry,' seemed wrong, because she was not sorry one bit for being pregnant.

She had just found out a few days before and she along with Hotch were happy and excited.

"You've really moved on," Will murmured.

"I'm sorry," she said to that, because she was sorry that things with Will had gotten so out of hand.

"Yeah, well I just wish I had been told sooner," Will replied. "Maybe then I could have avoided looking like a fool going back and begging for my job again for the second time."

"You quit the NOPD?" JJ wondered out loud.

"Yeah, I was coming back to you and Henry. I thought I had been an idiot…" Will said sadly, twisting the knife in her chest.

Something must have been on her face, something intense by his next reaction. "Hey, no, don't cry," he said urgently. It was then she realized that tears were streaming down her face. "Come on… you were right I love Louisiana too much… I couldn't be happy here…"

But she felt as if he were just saying this for her benefit. She could tell he was lying. He had come back, and his intentions were permanent.

Oh, she should have told him about her and Hotch the minute it happened. How did she let it go on this long without telling him? She was a horrible person.

"Shh… JJ," Will said, he was at her side now, an arm around her shoulders, and the other was rubbing her arm soothingly. "Getting this upset isn't good for you or the baby…"

She sniffled back her tears. "Why do you care? It's not yours…"

"Yeah, but this baby will be my son's little brother or sister. For Henry's sake… please…"

JJ calmed down. "I'm sorry. I didn't believe you'd come back."

"Does it change things now?" he shrugged, knowing the answer. "You clearly love him…"

JJ sat still; his shifting mood swings were confusing.

"I'm going to the house to pack the rest of my things. Then maybe later I can come see Henry?"

JJ nodded quickly. "Of course."

Will stood up at her side. "Ok, well…" he bent down and gave her forehead a kiss and then he was gone.

* * *

JJ shut off her car and stepped out in front of Hotch's house. The whole day had been emotionally draining. She was tired and just wanted to relax.

Climbing the stairs to the front door, she opened it to find she had three people sitting in the living room clearly waiting for her.

"Mommy!" Henry exclaimed and he ran for her legs, embracing her tightly.

As much as she wanted to relax she wanted to spend time with her new family even more.

"Hey sweetie, how are you?" she asked, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Great mommy," Henry answered. "Where's daddy?"

JJ frowned in Hotch's direction. She hadn't wanted to tell Henry his dad was in town until she knew for sure what was happening.

"Sorry," Hotch said sheepishly. "I was talking to Dave on the phone and…"

She nodded, letting the frown relax from her face. At least she had good news to tell her son. "He's coming over to see you in a bit."

"Really?" Henry's face lit up.

She was so glad for Henry that Will had decided to come back at least for a little while.

JJ nodded, and Henry practically screeched in happiness.

Hotch smiled at the two year olds reaction. "Henry why don't you go upstairs and get your room ready for when your dad comes."

"Ok!" Henry exclaimed, already up and running.

"Jack, do you mind helping him out?" JJ asked.

"Sure," Jack agreed.

When they were out of the room, JJ flopped down onto the couch and let out a long suffering sigh.

"That bad?" Hotch asked, coming around the back of the couch to give her shoulders a massage.

"It was like I kept hitting him in the stomach," JJ admitted. "I'm seeing my boss now, _punch!_" She made a fist and punched the air. "I love him, _punch!_ And oh yeah, I'm pregnant with his baby not yours, _punch!_"

Hotch chuckled and then quickly covered it with a cough when she glared at him.

"I'm such a horrible person," she said, letting out a groan.

"JJ, look at me," Hotch urged and she did so. "You are not a horrible person."

"You're just saying that cause you love me and I'm having your baby," she chided.

"Would I love a horrible person?" Hotch asked, amused. He came to sit next to her, taking her hands in his, he gave them a squeeze. "Listen, we didn't plan any of this, but it happened. We've got nothing to be ashamed of. Could we have told Will sooner? Yeah, probably. Definitely. But maybe he shouldn't have left town so quickly either. We're all a little to blame and I think we can all forgive each other for that."

JJ smiled feeling a bit better. She leaned in and gave his kiss a cheek. "Nice. Can you tell Will the exact same thing when he comes over?"

"Oh, I won't be here when he gets here. He'll want to punch me out," Hotch joked.

JJ laughed. She gave him a playful shove. "Coward…"

They shared a laugh when the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Uh oh, you think I can sneak out the back?" Hotch asked.

JJ tried not to laugh as she got up to get the door. Taking a deep breath she pulled it open. "Will," she greeted, forcing an awkward smile.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked looking nervous.

"No of course not, come in," she encouraged.

Will stepped inside the house not masking his perusal of the place. JJ guessed he was looking for anything that they could be called out on pertaining to the safety of their son. There wasn't anything. After Hailey's death Hotch had went into hyper-overprotective mode and had made sure that every precaution had been taken towards Jack's safety.

"Will," Hotch greeted, suddenly at her side. "Nice to see you again."

His hand was out for a shake and for a second JJ thought Will might slap it away or even spit in Hotch's face, he looked that mad.

But in the next instant the fire dissipated to a dull burn and Will was shaking Hotch's hand answering, "Likewise."

"Henry's upstairs, he's fixing up his room with Jack, he can't wait to—"

"Daddy!" Henry's ecstatic voice rang out, drowning out JJ. Her son was running down the stairs.

The next thing anyone knew there was a two year old boy wrapped around the legs of the police detective.

Will bent down and picked up his son. "Hey buddy, how are you? I've missed you!"

Henry gave his dad a chokehold of a hug. "I missed you too, daddy."

JJ looked on at the tender sight with misty eyes. She looked at her ex-boyfriend and could see the reunion with his son had an affect on him too. There were tears in Will's blue eyes.

"Where were you daddy?" Henry asked, pulling back to question his father. "Mommy said you were visiting grandma. Are you going back? I want you to stay with me."

Will pulled his son back in for a hug. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good!" Henry exclaimed. "Come see my room. It's my new room for when me and mommy stay at Hotch's. Jack's up there waiting, he's my new big brother."

The little boy urged his dad to put him down. Then he took Will's hand and pulled. Will looked to Hotch for an ok and got a quick nod.

Once out of the room, JJ let out the tears she'd been holding back. Her baby boy was so brave, she concluded. This whole ordeal had affected him more than she'd thought, and he hadn't said anything to her.

"Come here, JJ," Hotch said before pulling her into his embrace. "He's going to be ok," he said knowingly. "Henry's a tough kid and he's got the best mom in the world. He'll pull through this."

"I hope so," she murmured.

"I know so," Hotch affirmed. "And I don't think Will will be going back to Louisiana anytime soon."

"Why not?"

"Did you see the look on his face when Henry said he doesn't want him to go anywhere? No, Will's sticking around."

"Are you ok with that?" JJ asked unsurely.

Hotch smiled at her. "Of course. Henry needs his dad. And as long as you love me, I'm good."

"I'll always love you," she confirmed.

Hotch gave her a quick peck. "Good."

* * *

Well that's it. I could leave it there and I think that would be a fine ending, or I could have a short epilogue just to tie things up like the pregnancy and such. If you guys want that let me know.

Anyways, I want to thank all those who've read this and reviewed: **canny-bairn** _(thanks, JJ/Hotch fics are my favourite to write and read too);_ **ReadingRed **_(thanks);_** i-luv-janto** _(I love when Jack and Henry make appearances too, especially in the show_); and **deeda** _(thanks so much. I know what you mean, there aren't enough JJ/Hotch fics out there, I hope that people won't stop writing them when AJ leaves next season)._

Thanks again!


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